Tensions have never been higher in the conflict between Palestinians and Israel, with peace negotiations falling short of success, in part due to an inability to have a good moderator between the two sides. Now, US President Donald Trump has been reported to seriously consider pulling out of the peace negotiations. The report appears after there was a tense meeting between Ramallah officials and White House representatives, according to al-Hayat, UK-based Arabic daily newspaper.
After the elections of Donald Trump, several Democrats claimed that he had no interest in helping peace prevail in the area. Some even said that just like this gorgeous pearl necklace, outer beauty is what is presented while the price is never advertised. It is believed that Trump does not want to spend money on a potential peace when his efforts are focused mainly on domestic politics.
The report is claiming that Donald Trump is not decided whether or not to still remain involved in the peace negotiations. It is said that he is seriously considering pulling out of all the near future peace efforts, with a complete process withdrawal being preferred at the moment.
Senior administration officials in the Trump cabinet labeled the report as being “nonsense”. However, no official statement was made about the topic.
Al-Hayat issued the report only days after the meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and Jared Kushner took place. Abbas advisors present described the talks as being really tense. This was expected but it is said that the tension was higher than normal.
It seems that Abbas (according to the report) was furious after Kushner declared the Israeli demands and told them to the Palestinian leader. This included an immediate payment towards terrorists and family members. Abbas went on to accuse Jason Greenblatt (lead international negotiator for Donald Trump) and Kushner of taking the side of Israel and not wanting to commit to any requests from the other side.
It was mentioned that the Trump Administration is not happy with the fact that Abbas did not denounce the recent Jerusalem stabbing attack where a terror based initiative led to the stabbing of a member of the military. After Abbas simply refused to have a meeting with David Friedman (US ambassador to Israel) the talks were supposedly even more tensioned.
Palestinian officials declared that Americans required the Palestinian officials to curb the statements that are made about Israel as they are inflammatory. The official declared:
Kushner will submit his report to the president and, after it is submitted, Trump will decide if there’s a chance for negotiations or it might be preferable to pull out of peace efforts.
According to Abbas, Israel talks about terrorist payments as a pretext with the main focus put on avoiding the peace talks. Payments are listed as being a part of the social responsibility of the Palestinian’s government. It is expected that Donald Trump will make a statement about the topic in the following days but peace talks are now stopped.
